US, UK Jewish groups express solidarity with Palestinians following Israeli attacks in Jerusalem

At least 700 worshippers at Al-Aqsa Mosque have been injured by Israeli security forces since Palestinians gathered at the holy site last Friday for Laylat al-Qadr, one of the most important events in the Muslim calendar.

Jewish Voice for Peace, an organisation that says its mission is to foster a Jewish identity beyond Israel, has vehemently condemned Israel's violence against Palestinians.

Read more: Fighting Israel's erasure of Palestinian identity in Jerusalem

Stefanie Fox, the organiser’s founder, wrote an emotional statement regarding the violence suffered by Palestinians in Jerusalem at the hands of Israel. 

“My heart is shattering over and over for Palestinian comrades both in Jerusalem and afar, living the exhaustion and terror of this moment, and reliving, through it, the past seven decades of unrelenting trauma from Israeli persecution and violence,” she said. 

“The horrors on the ground in Palestine/Israel are enormous, as the Israeli government propels the imminent settler theft of homes in Sheikh Jarrah, bulldozes homes in Silwan, storms Al Aqsa mosque to attack Palestinians at prayer, and protects rioting mobs of settlers as they accost Palestinians.”

Fox said that the dispossession in Sheikh Jarrah is an extension of the Nakba - the forced displacement of Palestinians from their homeland that accompanied the creation of Israel in 1948.

If Not Now, a US-based organisation, released a statement on Twitter saying that Israel's violence against Palestinians was entirely avoidable. 

“War is not inevitable. Evicting families is not inevitable. Tear gassing worshipers is not inevitable. Singing for the death of another people is not inevitable. Apartheid is not inevitable. People are choosing to make these actions happen. People can make different choices,” they said.

Yachad, a British Jewish organisation which campaigns for a two-state solution, released a statement condemning the dispossession of Palestinians in Sheikh Jarrah and accused Israeli officials of inciting hatred.

“Evictions of Palestinians from their homes in Sheikh Jarrah that were planned for this past week, through the utilisation of a discriminatory law that allows Jews only to reclaim property rights pre-1948, has sparked a series of protests and counter protest," the statement said.

"Elected Israeli officials have gone out of their way to stoke racial tension and hatred.” 

British Rabbi Laura Janner-Klausner released an interfaith message of solidarity together with Muslim community leader Julie Siddiqi.

“We look on with anguish and our hearts ache. It is time for British Jews and Muslims together to speak for higher truths. The world is witnessing scenes of armed police storming the sacred Al-Aqsa mosque, disrupting a holy night of worship and of escalating violence. Scenes we do not want our children to see- yet many have and many will. This cannot be the way for a city that is holy to both Islam and Judaism, a city of beauty,” Janner-Klausner and Siddiqi said.

Janner-Klausner also tweeted in condemnation of Israeli violence, saying it goes against Jewish values.

“This is the very opposite of decency. This is the very opposite of Judaism. This is the very opposite of the vision of Jerusalem as a City Of Peace. This is racism. This is incitement. This is wicked. Impure and Simple,” she said.

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